Obama and Merkel vow peace push
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
June 5, 2009 - 12:00am

One day after making a keynote speech in Cairo, Mr Obama said his government would seek a resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. "The moment is now, to act on what both sides know to be truth," he said. Mr Obama is visiting the Nazi concentration camp in Buchenwald and afterwards a US Army hospital. His visit to Buchenwald has a personal significance. His maternal great-uncle, Charles Payne, had been one of the US servicemen present at the liberation of Ohrdruf, a satellite camp of Buchenwald.

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Obama to tell Israel: Form new peace policy by July
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - June 3, 2009 - 12:00am

United States President Barack Obama intends to give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu four to six weeks to provide an "updated position" regarding construction in West Bank settlements and the two-state principle. Obama made a surprise appearance on Tuesday at a meeting Defense Minister Ehud Barak was holding in Washington, shortly before the U.S. leader was set to leave on a five-day trip to the Middle East.

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How Not To Protect the Jewish State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Eric Yoffie - (Opinion) June 3, 2009 - 12:00am

During his recent visit to the United States, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his demand that Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state should be a precondition for talks aimed at achieving a peace settlement. While such a request might seem reasonable — after all, Israel is a Jewish state — it is actually a serious mistake.

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The Middle East peace process may be on the line
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Mkhaimar Abusada - (Opinion) June 1, 2009 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the White House, the first such visit since US President Barack Obama came to power, revealed major differences between the two leaders. Most importantly, Netanyahu could not say the magic words, "two states for two peoples." He did concede that both Palestinians and Israelis will have to live and coexist side-by-side, and that he supported self-rule for Palestinians. But he made no mention of a state and thus failed to endorse the cornerstone of Washington's Middle East policy, underscoring a rare rift in United States-Israel relations.

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U.S. Delegation 'Skeptical' That Netanyahu Will Advance Peace Process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid, Nadav Shragai - May 25, 2009 - 12:00am

A U.S. Congressional delegation in Jerusalem said on Sunday that it was “skeptical” that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government would be able to move the peace process with the Palestinians ahead. The five-person delegation from the sub-committee on the Middle East was headed by Congressman Gary Ackerman from New York, who is considered one of Israel’s greatest friends on Capitol Hill. The delegation met with President Shimon Peres and other senior officials in Israel and in the Palestinian Authority.

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"Fixation on two-state solution is childish"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer - May 21, 2009 - 12:00am

"This idea of two states for two peoples is a stupid and childish solution to a very complex problem," senior members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu staff said on Wednesday as the entourage made its way back to Israel from Washington. They were determined to emphasize that Israel would continue to build in the larger settlement blocs and Jerusalem despite US President Barack Obama's resolute opposition.

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Obama demands that Israel stop settlements. But how feasible is that?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - May 21, 2009 - 12:00am

This week, US President Barack Obama conveyed a clear message to his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu: the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank must stop. On Thursday, Israeli police evacuated an unauthorized settlement outpost of Maoz Esther, but Israeli peace activists said the move was a public relations stunt, since no settlers live there on a permanent basis.

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Rift deepens between Palestinian factions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Omar Karmi - May 21, 2009 - 12:00am

The swearing-in of a new, extended cabinet by Mahmoud Abbas is a “deliberate attempt” to undermine ongoing unity talks in Cairo, Hamas said yesterday. Mr Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, swore in the cabinet on Tuesday evening. The new government, which in effect will rule only over the parts of the occupied West Bank not under direct Israeli control, is headed by Salam Fayyad, who also led the previous Palestinian administration.

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Israeli Arabs blast plan for PA to cede Temple Mount sovereignty
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn, Avi Issacharoff, Jack Khoury, Barak Ravid - May 21, 2009 - 12:00am

The northern branch of the Islamic Movement blasted Thursday a proposal for the Palestinian Authority to relinquish sovereignty over the Temple Mount in exchange for international Islamic control of the site. "The proposal to transfer sovereignty to a third state stems from the attempted to internationalize the Al Aqsa Mosque, and actually this is a proposal whose significance is the continuation of the occupation; therefore, such a proposal must be aggressively rejected," the Israeli Arab group said in a statement.

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Clinton calls on Israel to halt 'any kind' of settlement activity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - May 21, 2009 - 12:00am

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took a hard line against settlement construction in the territories Wednesday, including a call to freeze building for natural growth. Her statement came in contrast to the general terms U.S. President Barack Obama expressed about the issue to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the week. "We want to see a stop to settlement construction - additions, natural growth, any kind of settlement activity - that is what the president has called for," Clinton said in an interview with Al-Jazeera.

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